GOOD READING AND LISTENING FOR THE WEEKEND …

On Phillip Adams’ Late Night LiveTony Moore of the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash explains the Centre’s “recovering the Australian working class” project. In arguing for a strong social wage he points out how means-tested benefits have contributed to “downward envy”. Australia’s working class is not necessarily poor, but it is disadvantaged in areas such as health and education.

Transparency International has released its Corruption Perception Index 2017. New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the Nordic countries retain their lead rankings. Australia, which held 8th place behind these countries in 2012, has slipped to 13th place. Even the United Kingdom now ranks ahead of Australia.

On Australia’s stagnating real wages Ross Gittins writes that “the union movement has done too little to counter the alarmists telling their members they’ve lost the power to ask for more”. Stagnating wages may be stoking workers’ disaffection with the Turnbull Government, to the Benefit of the Labor Party, but they’re doing nothing for people’s pay packets or the Australian economy.

The real reason Americans don’t care about the cost of wars – The Nation.

Whatever Trump Is Hiding Is Hurting All of Us Now. He either believes Putin’s denials, or more likely, is afraid of what the Russians have on him – Thomas Friedman.

Turnbull’s US visit should prompt us to rethink our place in the world – The Guardian.

On Saturday Extra this 24th February, Geraldine Doogue brings you the February edition of A Foreign Affair. It was recorded at the ANU on Wednesday evening in front of an audience. Menna Rawlings, the British High Commissioner, Michael Wesley, Dean of the College of Asia and the Pacific at the ANU and Bob Carr, former ALP Senator and Foreign Affairs minister are the guests. Former ALP minister Craig Emerson also joins Geraldine to discuss his life in politics. Rodger Shanahan, research fellow for the West Asia program at the Lowy Institute provides a where are we up to in the Middle East as the situation in Syria becomes worse and Andrew Rosser, professor of Southeast Asian Studies from Melbourne University discusses why the education system in Indonesia is being held back and what the implications are for Australian education providers. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/